Heirs of the Magi Archives: Cassie's Journal 2014 - Part Two

By Steve Leggett

Welcome back to Witch Falls! Cassie's adventures in Witch Falls for the second half of 2014 begin with summer vacation; continue through the first half of Grade Nine; and wrap up with an amazing Christmas season and holiday. Being a teenager and high school freshman is crazy enough for most people, and that's no different for a junior Magi Master - just a bit crazier and more intense! Come along with Cassie, her family, and their friends; and find out what daily life is like for the young Magi Master who is destined to be at the center of the action during the Ascension of the Light.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Leggett
• Release date: Dec 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9780994002013

Steve Leggett

I've been an avid reader since my early childhood, and though I've been legally blind for around twenty years now, that love of books has continued, despite the challenges. The bug to try seriously writing books hit me in 2007, and I started with writing fan fiction stories, which was a great way to learn how to develop story lines and existing characters, as well as do research and new character creation. The feedback from readers, both positive and negative, was also a very important part of the learning process. Two million or so words, and several thousand pages later, and I was ready to start Heirs of the Magi. Fantasy epics and series are my favorite books. Whether I'm visiting the worlds created by authors like Andre Norton and Frank Herbert, or exploring the magic closer to home, like with Nora Roberts and so many other classic and contemporary writers, it's the more intimate involvement with the people and places that these books create that I love most. That's the type of story I had in mind when I began developing Heirs of the Magi, and I hope that you will love the books as much as I've loved bringing them to you!

Book preview

Heirs of the Magi Archives

Cassie’s Journal 2014 – Part Two

By Steve Leggett

Published by Steve Leggett - Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 – Steve Leggett

Cover Image by Kayla Leggett - Copyright 2014 - Used by Permission

ISBN: 978-0-9940020-1-3

Books by Steve Leggett

Heirs of the Magi Trilogy

Magi Sanctuary

Magi Master

Magi Ascension – Part One – The Ascension Begins

Magi Ascension – Part Two – Light Your World (Forthcoming)

Heirs of the Magi Archives

Cassie's Journal 2011

Cassie's Journal 2012 - Part One

Cassie’s Journal 2012 – Part Two

Cassie’s Journal 2013 – Part One

Cassie’s Journal 2013 – Part Two

Cassie’s Journal 2014 – Part One

Cassie’s Journal 2014 – Part Two

Cassie’s Journal 2015 – Part One – (Forthcoming)

The Catalyst Chronicles

The Catalyst is Born

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

July 2014

August 2014

September 2014

October 2014

November 2014

December 2014

Notes

July 2014

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

We started out the day with a bit of rain, but that was over with by the time we went outside for Tai Chi; and it’s been a beautiful day since then – with the bonus of being hot while not being the kind of scorchers we’ve had for the past few days.

That made it perfect for a lazy play day; and that’s exactly what Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I did for most of the day once we were all finished with a bit of work or other activities for the first hour or so after breakfast. For Rowen and me that included getting Ethan and Ehlana ready for a morning at KidZone and then dropping them off there before moving on to spend most of the next few hours at the park with Michael and Tim. We rode the trails and worked on some favorite tricks; went swimming a couple of times; and then had a picnic by the river before hitting the Emporium for an ice cream dessert.

There was some more biking in the afternoon; more swimming; and some play time with Ethan and Ehlana when Mom brought them home from an afternoon with her at the lab. I went home with Michael for dinner after that; we had our teen praise team practice; and then we followed that up with some more play time with Ethan and Ehlana before they went to bed. That mostly consisted of a long swim in the river and a bedtime snack and story on the back porch, and after we tucked them in for the night; Michael and I came up to the lounge for a little alone time that was like the rest of the day – moderately hot; but not scorching! ;^)

We wrapped up our evening with a late swim that Violet, Dillon, Jake, Stephanie, Josiah, and Christina all joined us for; and then Michael went home and I came back up to my room to get ready for bed and take care of some family business work that I wanted to get ahead on before my usual Wednesday work day. I kicked it into Magi gear to do that; so I’ll still be sleeping before midnight; but doing that has tired me out a bit more than I expected tonight.

There wasn’t any major news via email tonight, and I don’t really have anything else to report even though this seems very short for what has been one of those really good ‘normal’ days. Since we’ve got a couple of busy work days ahead of the Fourth of July holiday on Friday, though; I’ll just keep it this short and enjoy the extra rest while I can – especially since we’re likely going to have a lot of late nights for not just this weekend; but for the next couple of weeks while my cousins are here for their holidays.

I am definitely ready for some nap time right now, though; so, until next time…

…Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

We’ve had a really nice weather day today, but it really almost felt cool out to have the temperature drop down into the seventies after topping one hundred and ten on the weekend. That made the river feel warm by comparison today, and while it would have been great for biking too; we didn’t really end up having much teen play time today. Rowen and Tim ended up being busy doing other things almost all day; so Michael and I spent his afternoon break playing with Ethan and Ehlana in the back yard and going for a long swim and water games session.

I worked in the office on the family business a lot of the rest of the time; helped to cook dinner and then take care of the clean-up; and then started babysitting Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden shortly before Mom and Dad started their baseball practice. Their practice was fairly serious with their holiday weekend game coming up on Friday; but I spent most of that time at the playground trying to keep up with four toddlers.

I probably had the better workout; so I’ll be good to go for my game on Saturday.

Michael caught up with us at the park before the end of practice; and then he not only came home with us, but got added to the sleepover guest list so that he could both help me out with the twins and their friends; but not bother his parents by going home after Mom and Dad got back from their post-practice play time at the pub with their friends. We took Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden for a swim while Mom and Dad got ready to go out; watched a movie with them in the lounge after getting them ready for bed; and then tucked them in with enough time left to wind down with some quality cuddling before Mom and Dad got back again at a little before twelve-thirty.

The toddler sleepover plan must have had something to do with Violet and Dillon’s decision to do a sleepover of their own – at his house; so Michael and I didn’t really have to rush off to bed after Mom and Dad did go and crash for the night – so we didn’t. We also had a bit of a nap together in the lounge; but woke up before two. Michael went downstairs to his room then; and I’m pretty much just doing this and my email check before heading back off to dreamland – though that won’t be as much fun as it was while cuddled with Michael.

I guess this hasn’t really been a very exciting day; but that’ll change tomorrow with another work day ahead of the incoming family and the start of the holiday weekend. Getting more sleep would have been a good idea, but then so was the bonus cuddle time with Michael – especially since we have no idea how many chances we’ll get to do that over the next couple of weeks while my cousins are here with us.

Maybe I should go and wake Michael up and cuddle with him for the rest of the night! ;^)

Okay, maybe not; but that would be fun. I’ll settle for some happy dreams that involve him in a starring role and call it a night. Until next time…

…Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Thursday, July 3, 2014

It’s not late, and I’m already writing this because we’re having a very quiet start to our holiday weekend – at least here at our house.

I don’t really even have a lot to report today. While pretty much everyone else was working; I spent the morning doing most of my usual weekend chores – including mowing the lawn and weeding the gardens. It was after one by the time I finished that, so I got cleaned up and met up with Michael at the Inn. We had a fries and drinks lunch; went biking with Rowen and Tim during most of his break; and wrapped up that couple of hours of fun with a swim in the river before he needed to get back to work and Rowen and Tim both moved on too. I was home when Violet stopped in after working at the lab all day with Mom and Aunt Grace; so we had a little chat while she finished packing for her weekend away; and then she was off and running after a quick round of hugs and kisses to get Dillon at his house and hit the road for Woodvale.

We had dinner at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house, and got there in time to run next door and say goodbye to Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace before they left for Granite Park; but then they were on the road for their weekend away too; and it suddenly seemed very quiet for a while with just us; Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Zack. Christina was around town too, but with Josiah and his family for dinner; since her family didn’t be get into town until later.

Even though I knew we weren’t having a house full of guests this weekend; I still thought that we’d be busier – either helping Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, or hanging out with his family. That didn’t happen, though, and since Michael, Rowen, and Tim were all busy with work or their own families; I didn’t really have anything to do except take it easy and hang out with my family. All of the members of the inbound Johnson and McEwan families had not be able to get on the road early; so the first wave is just getting into town now – and they’re over at Aunt Deborah and Uncle Nick’s house. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne are getting the McEwans and a few extras, except for Tory and Kyle. They’ll be at the Inn all weekend as part of the tail-end of their honeymoon.

I have no idea why their collective families thought that it was a bad idea to put newlyweds in any house full of kid cousins. ;^)

Mom and Dad took Ethan, Ehlana, and me home by a bit after eight; I took the twins for a swim; and then we did the full bath and bedtime routine ahead of the Fourth of July festivities. I came up to my room once Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in and hopped into my Jacuzzi for a soak. I took care of a bit of family business while doing that; followed the tub time up with a short music practice to make sure I was ready for the parade tomorrow; and then hopped into bed with Mandy to do this and an email check.

My favorite outbound family members arrived in Woodvale and Granite Park safely, and while I’d like to have them here for the weekend – and the rest of our family; that’s really only going to mean that we have a little less work around here and it isn’t as if Michael and I will be lacking for family time between us. The extra sleep tonight is an unexpected bonus, so I should probably just wrap this up and take advantage of it. I’m sure there will be a lot more to cover with tomorrow’s update, and though last year was really great, this is technically the first Fourth of July for Michael and me since we didn’t ‘officially’ start dating until Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace’s wedding two days after the Fourth last year; so there’s a very good chance we’ll be in for another best-ever-so-far kind of day.

I am so going to be fully charged and ready for that; so, until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy Un-Independence Day, everyone!

I mean Happy Fourth of July!

Can you believe that Mom and I are already celebrating our fifth un-independence day here in Witch Falls?

We’ve had another amazing holiday that started out with Tai Chi; and got better when Michael advised us that we were all on the holiday breakfast guest list at his house. Mom and Dad rounded up a few quick donations to send along with Michael; we all got ready for the day; and then went to Michael’s house to enjoy the awesome food that Jacob and Jake had cooked up for all of us.

In case I haven’t mentioned it lately, girls – Michael’s mine; I’m keeping him; and that isn’t just because the food is better at his house!

That is a really great bonus, though! ;^)

It was also an amazing blast of fun with our families too; and I loved every minute of it – even the clean-up that we needed to rush through so that Michael and I could get to the school to help out with setting up ‘our’ trailer for the teen praise team. We were the first teens there, but the truck, trailer, equipment, and our driver were; so Michael and I got to work setting up the sound system. We had that nearly finished by the time Anna-Marie and Calvin joined us. Shane and Tegan were only a couple of minutes behind them, so once we were all together; we worked together to get the banners up along the sides of the trailer that covered the wheels; set up Anna-Marie’s keyboard and Michael’s guitar; and finished setting up the trailer the way she wanted it so that everyone watching would have at least two of us facing them at all times.

We had our sound check, warm-up, and a quick run-through of our little selection of songs; and Anna-Marie spent some time coaching Michael and me on performing instead of just singing. I’ll be the first to admit that Michael and I haven’t jumped around on stage, danced, or done anything else than just play and sing during any of our duets; so doing more than standing there and holding the microphone or stand didn’t feel comfortable at first; but we had fun with it – and definitely entertained Anna-Marie, Calvin, Shane, and Tegan while we practiced ‘our moves’. There was still time left before the start of the parade when we were finished our practice; so Michael and I wandered around to check up on what Rowen, Tim, and the rest of our friends were doing.

Rowen was with the school band, and they’d warmed up already too, so we took her along to track down Tim. He wasn’t doing anything ‘in’ the parade, but he had spent the morning helping his father with getting equipment to the school yard; getting the bigger float trailers ready; and since his father was driving one of the tractor-trailers; he was going along for the ride. They were both still working, so we gave them a hand while talking with Tim; and that ended up taking all of the time we had left before needing to get back to our own trailers. We still had a bit of a wait, since we weren’t right at the front of the parade column; so Michael and I mostly just chatted with the rest of our group and sipped on bottles of water to stay hydrated. It wasn’t too hot or anything, but the sky was clear; and we were going to be singing a lot for the next three-quarters of an hour or so.

All of our songs were upbeat, and most of them were well-known enough for a lot of people to sing along with us. As with last year, it was different being in the parade instead of watching it; and missing out on seeing what everyone else was doing – though we could see some of the action ahead of us; and caught some of the parade behind us while we packed up out on River Road. I haven’t really decided how to rank our parade time this year compared to last yet. The biking was definitely more exciting; but singing with Michael and the others was really special too even without the cool bike tricks and air time. having people sing along was awesome too, but then there were some moments when we just had people listening to our music and harmonies that made it near as special as the duets Michael and I have performed together.

I’m sure that you can guess that our favorite part of the parade was when we passed our families – for all six of us. Anna-Marie, Michael, and I all had our families watching the parade along Quarry Road between Witch Falls Road and the park; so that last section of the parade route was the best for us. It also felt a little strange to be singing with Anna-Marie while her oldest brother was hanging out with Christina and ‘my’ family; and Michael’s cousin, Erica, was with Caleb and the rest of Anna’s family.

I know, but I’m still getting used to some of the things that everyone else here just thinks of as small-town normal. It’s no wonder that the six degrees of separation game never caught on here – you’re an outsider if it takes more than two steps to connect virtually everyone in Witch Falls.

Moving along, once we were through the parade, our driver parked on River Road so that we could pack everything up and put it in his truck; and then Michael and I walked back to our homes with Anna-Marie and Calvin – the boys taking care of getting Anna-Marie’s keyboard home. Michael and I only split up long enough to get changed at our houses. Mom and Dad already had our truck loaded up by then and Ethan and Ehlana were at the park with the other cousins and being spoiled by the grandparents; so I went over to Michael’s house and helped out with getting their minivan loaded before we walked back over to the park and met up with my family. We helped out with getting food for the kids; and then staked out an area at the ball diamond so that we could both watch the game and cheer for our team.

Mom and Dad had done a food pick-up at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house before coming to the park; and then they’d met up with their team for warm-ups while we’d been busy getting food and drinks. The Olde Bakery Beagles were the away team for their match against the Hair Hounds; but I’ll rather immodestly report that they had a huge advantage with the cheerleading squad. I missed competing against Miranda today, but, as she pointed out before taking the afternoon off – she didn’t have a dog in the co-ed division race this year.

Yeah, I know, but dog-related jokes are apparently just part of the fun this season.

Some of those jokes got the Hair Hounds in trouble today. I know their players were having fun with it, but our players only got motivated to try harder the more ‘olde dog’ jokes they had thrown at them. Add that to the amazing cheerleading that Rowen and I led with a lot of help from Ehlana, Naomi, and most of the visiting Johnson and McEwan kids and teens; and it’s no wonder that our team was up sixteen-to-eight going into the bottom of the seventh; and the Hounds only managed two more runs before giving up the last out of the game.

Michael and Tim didn’t join our squad, but they stayed close and happily shared hugs and kisses with their respective girlfriends. They also stayed with us when I needed to help out with kid control after the game while the parents all went home to get showered and changed after playing ball during a couple of the hottest hours of the day; but that was fun for all of us too. We went for a swim; had an ice cream cone break; and watched one of the stage shows until Mom and Dad relieved me of duty and set me free until dinnertime.

The fun level kicked up a few notches then because Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I caught up with Rebecca and Lucas – and they’d been hanging out with Jenny and Jonathan.

Jonathan who, you ask? That would be Jonathan McEwan!

Take tween strange from the summer Jenny and Rebecca were having their little summer love thing with Martin and Jonathan and take that to a whole new level. First, and most obvious is that it had been Rebecca and Jonathan, so that had to be a little weird for both of them; but Jenny didn’t seem to care at all. What she did care about is that he’s fifteen going on sixteen; single; from out-of-town; and hot. That last criteria was her term, not mine; though I do think that he’s handsome – in a cousins sort of way.

What is important to this report, though, is that Jenny’s in love again, and since Jonathan will be here for the next two weeks; I have a feeling that she is going to make his holiday here very interesting. Rebecca may have found it weird to hang out with Jonathan again while she was also with Lucas; but she did like the idea of spending time with Jenny without anyone feeling like a fifth wheel. The eight of us spent the rest of the afternoon together. We played some of the charity games; went for another swim; and the four guys tossed a football around for a while with some of their friends while we – the girls – sat with some of our friends and watched the action while having cold drinks or frozen treats.

Michael and I needed to meet up with my family for dinner, and we were on kid control while food was being rounded up. Rebecca and Lucas had dinner with his family, and Michael’s family just ended up with us so that Jake and Stephanie could hang out with Christina and Josiah; but there was one little surprise – Jonathan had Jenny with him for dinner too. I’m not suggesting that they needed to get a room at the Inn or anything, but the grin on his face and the hand-holding was all the evidence anyone needed to guess that Jenny had already caught her guy – at least for the next two weeks.

I have to wonder if that wouldn’t have happened if Joel had been here for the holiday weekend with his father, but he wasn’t; so we won’t find out. It could get interesting if he does come to spend any time here while Jonathan’s in town too; but we’ll cover that if it does become a story sometime this summer.

Before I move on to the evening news, I’ll add that Jonathan is probably feeling a lot better about his visit here now. He does have some friends here, but after spending his holidays hanging out with Chris and Martin for the past few years; I think he was feeling weird about being the only guy still coming for a holiday here this year. He wouldn’t have changed it because he wants to spend time with Christina and Josiah, but they’ll be working too; so Jenny will be able to help keep him entertained whenever he can’t hang out with his sister.

I’ll add two to all of our teen-rated plans for the next two weeks too.

Dinner felt like a bit of a rush, and then Michael and I had to help with the park clean-up before being set free again to hang out with Rowen, Tim, Rebecca, Lucas, Jenny, and Jonathan again. We had time to play more games before the dance started, and then we spent most of the next three hours dancing or hanging out with our friends and families except for one swim intermission at around nine-thirty. I mostly danced with Michael, but we took Ethan and Ehlana out a few times too; and Jake and Stephanie messed with us by cutting in for one dance too.

I am never going to live down those little childhood games, but in this case, I got to dance with Jake Stone; so I’m okay with that.

Sorry, Stephanie and Michael; but you can’t blame a girl for things like that when it involves her little girl crush.

There was a lot going on at the dance, and we had a great time; but there isn’t really anything else specific to add to this report from my end of things. We didn’t stay to the very end of the dance because we wanted to get a good spot to watch the fireworks from; and that was when the next blast of fun started – with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden wanting to come with us to do that instead of hanging out with Mom and Dad.

That was one of those moments for both the three sets of parents involved in that decision and Michael and me. I’m sure that Mom and Dad would have rather watched the fireworks with Ethan and Ehlana, but when Michael and I grabbed a blanket and some drinks and went to join the rest of our teen group; we had four toddlers with us. We got teased about it too, but the girls also thought that the kids were adorable – especially when Naomi sat with Ethan and held his hand and Ehlana did the same with Aiden. Both junior couples were with Michael and me, but we had support from Rebecca and Lucas on Michael’s side; and Rowen and Tim on mine.

The fireworks show started about ten minutes after the dance ended; and we spent the next half-hour or so watching the always-amazing display that made for a perfect end to our celebration. That scene wasn’t exactly romantic for Michael and me; but it was really great to share it with my brother, sister, and all of our best friends; so I was a very happy camper when it was time to rejoin our families; pack up our day camps; and head for home.

That was going to be the end of the night for Rebecca and Lucas until Michael invited him to stay overnight and got Jake to offer to give Lucas a ride home first thing in the morning so he could still do his chores. Jenny ended up doing a sleepover with Rebecca too, but that was mostly for the girl chat time that they’re probably just getting to now. She could have stayed and played with us after we were finished the post-fireworks work and then gone home too; though maybe she’d been hoping that Jonathan would get an invite too.

We had to split up for the home end of that work, and then my house was play central for the eight of us while the kids and parents went to bed. Jake, Stephanie, Christina, and Josiah went for a swim before calling it a night too; but they did that at Michael’s house so that they could have some time to hang out without a bunch of younger teens or kids around them.

It was after midnight by then, but we were still ready to party, so we swam; played glow in the dark Frisbee for a while; swam some more; and then split up for some couples-only time. Michael and I stayed by the river; Rowen took Tim home with her; Rebecca and Lucas went for a walk somewhere; and Jenny and Jonathan wandered down to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house to sit by the river there.

Note to future Magi who spend any time making out by the river – sound carries, so whatever you do does get passed on if you’re not very, very quiet. I’d let Jenny and Jonathan in on that little news flash; but then they’d know that Michael and I heard way more than we needed to hear from upriver tonight.

And just in case you’re wondering, that was not a problem for Michael and me. Our public cuddle time will never ever be anything that we’d be embarrassed to have anyone watching us see.

It was heading toward two-thirty when Michael went home, though; so this update is coming to you in the wee hours of Saturday morning. I may regret that by tomorrow night; but I definitely don’t now because that was hands-down the best end to a fourth of July for me ever so far. I also don’t have to worry about helping with a house full of guests in the morning and my weekend chores are done already; so I’ll be able to play with my family tomorrow – even though Michael, Rowen, and Tim will all be busy for most of the day.

We are doing the holiday weekend sale shopping in the morning with the rest of the girls in the family, though, so I should get what sleep I can so I’ll at least be ready for that – and my ball game at noon. I don’t have a holiday update from anywhere else around the family; but I’ll either hear about that tomorrow sometime or when Violet and Dillon get back here on Sunday with Dawn and Jillian – and Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace bring Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden back for their holidays.

There could be some rain rolling through this weekend to get in the way of all of the fun, but the timing on the rain has been so hit and miss lately, that I’ll just wait and see what happens. If it doesn’t get in the way of our baseball, barbeques, or campfire; I’ll be happy with whatever Mother Nature throws our way. Compared to the east coast today and their brush with Hurricane Arthur; we can’t really complain if we get a thundershower or two roll through here.

Anyway, that is all for tonight, and I’m off to dreamland now; so, until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Happy 5th of July!

No, I’m not losing it, though I am in a pretty good mood; and just thought that July fifth deserved to not get overlooked like it has every year in this country since we declared independence. You just know that all of the other fifths of the month are jealous of May fifth too!

My whimsical thoughts tonight might have a lot to do with having a fairly awesome day – though you probably shouldn’t rule out that I just spent too much time out in the hot weather. ;^)

The day started out great with Tai Chi by the river for five because Michael was helping out at the Inn this morning. Not having a house full of guests turned out to be fairly awesome for Ethan, Ehlana, and me because Mom and Dad decided to just take us to the special holiday weekend breakfast buffet at the Inn and let Jacob and Jake Stone feed us again for the second morning in a row. That was an awesome surprise, and I especially loved the no clean-up part of that change in plans. Mom, Ehlana, and I also got to have a jump on the holiday weekend sales shopping; though we ended up going to a few stores a second time once we met up with Aunt Leanne, Aunt Deborah, and the rest of the girls.

I didn’t get to shop with Rowen today because she was busy at the computer store all morning; but I collected her on the way home so that we could get ready for our baseball game and have a little snack lunch before going over to the park in time for our warm-ups. There was a scheduling conflict with our game and the family barbeque lunch at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house, so Rowen and I didn’t have much of a cheering section for the first half of our game; but Mom and Dad brought Ethan, Ehlana, and a picnic lunch with them so that they could be there – even though that meant missing out on some of the family fun.

We – the Vortex – were up against the Avalanche, and since we lost our first game to them; we were fairly motivated to do better this time. The lack of cheerleaders – particularly Aunt Leanne – for most of the game made things a little less exciting for us, but we were playing a good game; and the Avalanche only had a lead after their half of the first inning – the only lead they’d manage to get all afternoon. They were able to tie up the game again in the third; but we took the lead back in the bottom half of that inning too.

Aunt Leanne did come over to catch the last couple of innings and brought some junior cheerleaders along, but we had the game pretty much in hand by then; and didn’t need to play the bottom half of the last inning – earning a ten-to-six win that tied up our match-ups with the Avalanche and gave us a two win, one loss record at the half-way mark of our season. Mom and Dad went home with Aunt Leanne then, but Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana with us for the post-game ice cream celebration and then we eventually went for a cool-down swim with them – and most of the younger cousins – at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house before hurrying back to the park to cheer for Michael, Tim, and their team.

We missed almost the entire first inning, but trust me – Rowen and I really needed to clean up first after our game. The Lightning and Thunder had only exchanged runs in the first, and the game was tied going into the second; so at least Tim wasn’t able to blame the loss on us later. They did lose by a score of eight-to-six, and Michael and Tim were both frustrated that their team could only manage one run in their last at-bat; but they didn’t get up to bat anyway, so there wasn’t anything they could have done about it. The difference between winning and losing ended up hinging on one swing of the bat anyway – a grand-slam homer that one of the Thunder players hit in the top of the fifth that had the Lightning taking chances and trying to play catch-up after that.

Rowen and I got razzed about it by the other guys, but we went along for the ice cream run because I wanted to spend that time with Michael before he needed to get back to the Inn. We jumped into the river for a micro-swim too; but then he needed to help with the dinner rush and I needed to get to the family barbeque dinner at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house.

That was already in-progress by then, so I made up a plate and joined ‘the kids’ by the river where they were having a picnic on blankets and towels – or sitting on the dock or benches. They told me all about the fun that I’d missed while watching a boring old baseball game; and I played as much as I ate because there always seemed to be at least a few kids at any given moment more interested in playing or swimming than they were in eating. Helping out with kid control allowed the parents to have more time to hang out and enjoy some uninterrupted chat time; but it also meant that I didn’t get much of a chance to talk with any of the adults and older teens. Tory and Kyle, for instance, will be heading home again tomorrow afternoon; and I basically haven’t talked to them at all beyond congratulating them and sharing a hug or two and a few words here and there.

While I’m thinking about couples, Jenny was at the barbeque with Jonathan – and for the rest of the evening. Since she was going to be helping out at the Inn tonight with Rebecca, I’ll guess that she’s suddenly changed her plans for the next couple of weeks. That probably didn’t make too much of a difference tonight at the Inn because there are so many barbeques going on tonight anyway; but I hope she doesn’t take the day off for the buffets tomorrow. Miranda and Jacob are going to need all the help they can get – which is why I’ll be there all afternoon tomorrow for sure.

I helped out with the clean-up after dinner; played and swam with the kids until the campfire started; and then sat with Ethan, Ehlana, and the younger cousins and friends while Dad took the first shift for the campfire music and the grandfathers mostly handled the spooky campfire stories. Michael was set free from the Inn not long after that; so I had both a cuddle buddy and a music partner when we were drafted to provide some musical entertainment. His parents, Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca were there by then too, along with the usual group of neighbors; so we had a fairly large audience. In addition to doing some sing-alongs; we were asked to sing a couple of duets too; and doing that together was as amazing as always – and more special to be singing just for some of our favorite people.

Just for the future record, tonight’s duets were a duet version of ‘Wanted’ by Hunter Hayes that we heard and liked on YouTube by Haley and Michaels; and a version of ‘Let it Go’ from Frozen that we made up for the younger girls in the crowd who are currently in love with the latest Disney classic.

That little blast of fun was definitely one of the highlights of the day for me; though the quiet time with Michael after the campfire was special too. It actually didn’t seem like very long before we got to that point in our day, and it really wasn’t; because Mom and Dad took Ethan and Ehlana home for the night at a bit after eleven when the other younger kids started going home or into Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house for the night. The older teens were staying up later, but Michael and I opted to go back to my house then; help get Ethan and Ehlana into bed; and then go for a quiet swim for two before ending our night with some cuddle time by the river.

We were definitely tempted to spend that time in the lounge instead, since my cousins will be getting into town tomorrow night; but we’d both been running all day since dawn on just a few hours of sleep; so staying up late again wasn’t really a good idea.

That’s also why I’m going to wrap this up now and spend some quality time in the nap zone. Helping out at the Inn for all of the buffets will make for a very long day, but I also need to be ready for my first Sunday service on the teen praise team too. With the weather looking like it’s going to cooperate so we can have the service in the park; that’s going to be awesome; and I can hardly wait to find out what it’s going to be like to share that experience with Michael. I’ll let you know how that goes with the next update, so if you, reading this in the future can’t wait to find out what happened; just flip the digital page. For me; I’ll have to wait to find out in real time, which I’ll try to speed up a bit with a little old-fashioned sleeping; so, until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Happy 1st Anniversary, Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace!

Happy 1st Anniversary since we officially started dating, Michael!

Welcome home for your summer vacations Dawn, Jillian, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden! I guess that I should have done that for Jonathan, Kara, Eddie, and Nicole on Thursday, but since I didn’t; consider it done now.

I’m glad that my cousins are here, and Dawn, Jillian, and I have had fun tonight after I got home from the Inn; but I’ve basically missed out on all of the action today up until then while I was busy helping out with the holiday weekend buffets. It’s been a really long day too, so this is going to be one of those short reports.

Tai Chi by the river was good; breakfast at Michael’s with his family was great; and the church service in the park was best-ever-so-far kind of awesome! Michael and I loved every minute of that hour and a half blast of high-energy fun, and I’ll humbly agree with our families and friends that we – the teen praise team – did a great job today. There’s so much more that I could write about that, but then again, if you’re really interested; the service was recorded and is probably already posted on the church intranet site; so feel free to look it u and watch for yourselves.

The next nine hours or so was all work with a little bit of play time here and there. Rebecca, Jenny, and I worked together most of the time; though I helped Michael out on dishwashing duty a few times too when that end of the process started getting bogged down toward the end of each buffet sitting and the start of the next. It was also very hot again today – back into the triple digits both outside and in the kitchen. We did have regular, short breaks; but we spent most of that time jumping in the river for a quick swim; drying off; and getting something to drink and eat before getting right back into the fray.

My family was at the Inn for the last buffet of the night as a joint anniversary party and welcome home dinner for the cousins; but I didn’t join them for that – even though Miranda tried to get me to do that. I’ve got one or two weeks to spend with my cousins, and while I missed out on the anniversary party too; I wouldn’t have spent any time to speak of with my aunt and uncle anyway – I’d have been on kid control. I was also a sweaty, wrung-out mess by then too; so I’m sure that my family and the other diners were just as happy not to have me in the room with them; if you know what I mean.

Michael, Rebecca, Jenny, and I were set free a little before the clean-up was done and Jake and Stephanie were ready to close up for the night; so we went back to my house; Jonathan joined us there; and we went swimming for an hour or so – along with Dawn, Jillian, Violet, Dillon, Ethan, and Ehlana. Jake and Stephanie joined us after they were done work too; and then they hung out with Violet and Dillon for a while before going home with Michael and Rebecca at around eleven o’clock. Dillon went home then too, while Jonathan and Jenny headed off somewhere to hang out together for however long they stayed up before going to bed.

I had some chat time with Violet, Dawn, and Jillian after helping to get Ethan and Ehlana off to bed; and then we collectively decided to get some sleep and finish playing catch-up in the morning. Dawn and Jillian each have their own rooms this year, since that’s what they wanted to do; so Mandy and I are on our own tonight – which makes doing this and the rest of my usual bedtime computing much easier. We’re just doing a no-plan play day tomorrow, but I’m sure we’ll also going to be busy, and camping may be an option too; so I’d better finish this up and call it a night.

This Fourth of July holiday weekend might not rate best-ever-so-far for me, but it has been awesome; and I’m sure that the next couple of weeks will be just as amazing!

Stay tuned, and I’ll keep you posted, but for now; until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Monday, July 7, 2014

We’re taking a chance on when or if the rain will come overnight or in the morning and having our first camping adventure of the cousins’ vacation. It’s been a fun, lazy play day; with a touch or three of tween and teen weird here and there to make the day fairly interesting.

This will be out of order for the day, but first up on the tweird list was having Dawn and Jillian discovered by the local boys – and two of them in particular. The fact that they’re getting noticed isn’t a surprise, but when one of the boys in question is Vanessa’s younger brother; that definitely rates fairly high on the tweird scale for me. Vanessa will likely think so too, if she hasn’t heard that Tommy, and his best friend, Julian Sparks, were hanging out around us pretty much every chance they got today. Dawn and Jillian seemed to be happy enough with the attention; though they haven’t decided whether they’re interested in hanging out with Tommy and Julian or not.

While we did pretty much have a play day all day, Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I also had Ethan, Ehlana, and all of the younger cousins with us too; so there was a fair bit of supervision involved too. It was also really hot today, so in addition to the biking, playground time, and exploring; we also went swimming a lot and had two Emporium ice cream runs to help us keep cool. Rebecca played with us quite a bit, and Jenny was with us too; but she and Jonathan spent most of their time together, and they weren’t all that interested in playing with the younger kids. They’re both camping with us tonight too, but again, Rebecca is helping out with younger cousins – including Sophia and Jessica; while Jenny and Jonathan are pretty much off in their own world tonight. Since they do have tent mates, I’m sure they’ll get to their own tents eventually; but they’re not there yet as I’m writing this.

In addition to our play time, we also had lunch together at our house and a barbeque dinner here too – though that meal was pot luck; and most of the grandparents, aunts, and uncles pitched in to supply the food. I didn’t have to help with that work, or the clean-up; but I was on the campground set-up crew and had ongoing kid control before, during, and after dinner. Michael and Tim had their ball practice tonight after dinner; so we took the kids to the school playground to keep them entertained for another hour or so; and then we all went for a long swim until it was nearly dark and we could start our little campfire.

We’d collected extra kids and teens by then, and while some, like Naomi and Aiden, were staying overnight; most were just hanging out for the swim, campfire fun, and the snacks and drinks. Michael and I were in charge of the musical side of the campfire entertainment, and then we let Tim and some of the other teens take care of the scary stories. We also skipped most of the rest of the campfire after eleven too because we put all of the younger kids into their tents then; and stayed nearby to keep an eye on them – or deal with any late night toddler issues.

The mid-range kids – Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara; along with all of the pre-teens joined us at the tents by midnight. Rebecca came with them, but Rowen, Tim, Dawn, and Jillian stayed at the fire pretty much until it was nearly out – even after the other teens went home for the night. Jenny and Jonathan had gone for a walk by then, and while I’m wishing that Michael and I had a bit of alone time tonight too; I don’t really need to know what they’re up to while off on their own.

I did almost miss adding in the cameo appearance at the campfire from Jake, Stephanie, Violet, Dillon, Christina, and Josiah; but their visit was fairly short – and mostly to say goodnight to the younger kids before they went to bed. Since we’re camping, Dillon’s staying overnight with Violet, though I don’t think that whether we’re in the house or not matters anymore; since they’ve apparently crossed that bridge in Woodvale now.

Moving along, once we had some more support, going for another swim was an option for Michael and me; so we did that and then wrapped up our night with some cuddle time and chat with Rowen, Tim, Rebecca, Dawn, and Jillian before we were all ready to turn in for the night. We’re tentatively planning a canoe to the whirlpool adventure tomorrow with a six and up age limit; but that plan might change depending on the weather. There’s a lot that I haven’t covered from today, starting with Tai Chi and breakfast to all of the play time details; but it’s been a long, hot day; and I’m tired out, so that’s all I’ve got for tonight. Day One of the cousins’ vacation hasn’t exactly been best-ever for them; but they are all having fun; so I’d say we’re doing pretty good so far – and the fun is really just getting started. I’m going to need what sleep I can get to be ready if we do paddle out to the whirlpool and back, though; so, until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

We did have a little thunderstorm roll through early this morning, but other than waking us up and giving us a nice little light show to watch; it didn’t really get in the way of our fun – and we stayed nice and dry in our tents.

Okay, not all of us stayed dry, but for those guys who went out to play in the rain; that was fun too.

It was clear and sunny by morning, and Tai Chi by the river was awesome – especially because Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne brought Zack along and joined us today. They helped out with breakfast too, but with a big group to feed on a weekday morning; that was all easy-food options with minimal clean-up. I am not at all surprised that not only all of the bakery treats, but the boxes of pop tarts were demolished – along with most of two boxes of cereal, a loaf of bread, and a fair bit of milk and juice.

For most of us, getting cleaned up and ready for the day involved jumping in the river for a swim; and then we rushed around to pack up our campsite; get canoes and gear into the river for our whirlpool adventure; and packed a picnic. Doing all of that took a while, and we added a few extra kids and teens to the group by the time we left – including Tommy and Julian. They just happened to be wandering around on their bikes and stopped in to see what we were doing when they noticed all of the action going on in the back yard, and after checking with Dawn and Jillian first; they were given the invitations to join us for the day.

By the way, guys – you do know that girls don’t actually believe those ‘just passing by’ kind of lines, right?

Anyway, it was heading toward ten when we finally started out upriver; with the only sad part of that was seeing the disappointed younger kids watching us go – including Ethan, Ehlana, and all cousins and friends under six. That especially annoyed Eddie, since he’s five; but the age cut-off was really only because we didn’t want to split up Kaitlyn and Kara just because Kaitlyn was a few months younger. Mom and the aunts had plans for the younger kids anyway, and they had fun; but it would have been too much for us to add that many toddlers for the day and still have fun with our cousins and friends.

Some of us had more fun than others, but other than saying that; I’m not going to mention the teen drama that is Jonathan and Jenny this week. I know they’re older, but if Michael and I had moved that fast last summer; we’d have needed to get married by late August!

Without having Lucas around, that part of our canoe trip was weird for Rebecca, but she just hung out with Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me – and with Jessica, Dawn, Jillian, and the other girls. We took our time paddling up to the whirlpool, and some of us went for a swim or two along the way. Going for a swim was first on our to-do list when we got there too; and then we had our picnic lunch before getting back to our whirlpool play time. The usual water toys helped to keep the younger kids entertained, and Tim had the guys toss a foam football around for a while. Rebecca, Rowen, and I also played unofficial lifeguards; though that wasn’t really a problem since we didn’t have any novice swimmers in the group.

By the time we packed up and headed for home at three, we already had some tired out kids, but they were all in one of the three-person canoes; so it wasn’t really a problem if they had a nap or two on the way back. We picked up the pace a bit for the downriver half of our trip; and made it home by a little after five. There was teen and parental support for getting the canoes unloaded and most of them put away in the storage barn again; and then we were on the move again – over to Uncle Adam’s and Aunt Leanne’s house for another barbeque dinner. Not everyone stayed for that – Rebecca wanted to go home by then, and some of the other kids and teens had other plans; but Jenny, Tommy, and Julian all stayed for dinner – and the evening.

The last part of that didn’t really affect me that much because Dawn and Jillian found out that they were doing a sleepover at Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace’s with Jaimie and Kaitlyn while Jayden was at our house with Ethan for the night. What that meant for me was that once Dawn and Jillian had packed overnight bags and headed out; I pretty much had the rest of the evening to hang out with Michael, Rowen, and Tim. We went for a bike ride and a swim, and then Rowen and Tim headed over to his house when Michael and I were recruited to do the bedtime story with Ethan, Ehlana, and Jayden and then tuck them in for the night.

That was convenient for us; since we followed that up with some quality alone time in the lounge before Michael needed to get home again. My hot factor scale is probably a bit out of calibration right now since we aren’t having enough alone time right now, but we had fun; and there are advantages to only having swimsuits, tees, and shorts on when it comes to clothing-optional play time. This is the first time that I’ve written about anything like that since our one-year dating anniversary, so I’ll also mention for the record that we’re both very happy with how we’ve each developed over the past year. There is some weird that goes along with sharing those intimate changes and experiences, and maybe that has something to do with why so many teens go through these years with multiple boyfriends or girlfriends, but for Michael and me; it’s all just really amazing – and occasionally weird and funny.

Michael needed to get home in decent time so that he could get some sleep before needing to be at the Inn for the breakfast shift. He’s doing that because we have another birthday party to go to tomorrow afternoon. Elliott’s party is at Quarry Lake again this year; so we definitely don’t want to miss it. The cousins will be spending the afternoon out there too, and I’m sure there will be lots of other kids and teens there as usually happens when a large group of kids and teens from town will be out there anyway. It should be another awesome day, so though a little more play time with Michael would have been nice; I’m okay with a chance to catch up on some sleep too.

Violet and Dillon may have been thinking the same thing, because he’s at home tonight and she’s here – even though the only kids in the house are on the second floor tonight; so another sleepover would have been an option. Having a little chat with Violet on her way to bed was nice, though – especially since we haven’t gotten to do that much in the last couple of weeks.

I don’t have anything else for now, and I really do want to be at full-power tomorrow; so, until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Happy 14th Birthday, Elliott!

It isn’t totally official yet, but I’ll guess that Elliott was happiest about spending his special day with Nora. That little teen news story hasn’t developed quite as fast as the Jenny-Jonathan story; but it has when you consider that Elliott is a farm kid and Nora’s in town. They have the same issues as Rebecca and Lucas when it comes to spending time together. That might actually be one of the only reasons they haven’t ‘officially’ become a couple. Word with the girls is that Nora’s more than a little surprised to find herself interested in one of the ‘farm kids’ That’s apparently quite a shift in perception for her – and probably more than a little scary.

They weren’t the only teen couple story at the party today – Lily and Kris were having fun together too, so I expect it’s just a matter of time before they join the couples club too. Jenny and Jonathan are a hot topic with the girls too, with ‘hot’ being the operative word. They didn’t get kicked out of the campground for inappropriate behavior or anything; but they are certainly pushing the boundaries – particularly with all of the young kids around. At the low end of the hot spectrum, but earning some attention too, was Dawn and Jillian with Tommy and Julian.

The boys were not invited to go along with my family and cousins today, but they were able to hitch a